1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an attaching construction and a welding method for fixing a vehicle component such as a lamp to a body side of a vehicle.
2. Background Art
FIG. 8 shows an example of a conventional attaching construction of a vehicle component, in which a body attaching member 104, which is a metallic bolt, is attached to a fixing portion 103 provided on a lamp body 102 of a lamp 101 through heated press fitting or the like. In addition, the body attaching member 104 is inserted into and through a body panel 106 via a cushion member 105, and by a fastening member 107 being fastened on to the body attaching member 104, the lamp 101 is fixed to the body panel 106 (for example, refer to Patent Document No. 1).
In addition, as another example of a conventional attaching construction, there is known a lamp in which a slide contact projection provided on a base plate of a locking pin is ultrasonic welded to a surface of a lamp body, which is designed for welding (for example, refer to Patent Document No. 2).
Patent Document No. 1: JP-A-09-282909 (FIG. 6)
Patent Document No. 2: JP-A-11-310076 (FIGS. 4, 5)
In the attaching construction disclosed in Patent Document No. 1 above, however, when the body attaching member 104 is heated and press fitted in the fixing portion 103, a press fit amount is measured by the use of an optical sensor, but there may occur a situation in which press fit amounts vary. In addition, in the event that a body panel 106 side of the fixing portion 103, i.e., a lower end face thereof shown in the figure, is made to project further downwards than a lower end face of a head portion of the body attaching member 104 so press fitted, a force attempting to pullout the body attaching member 104 from the fixing portion 103 is produced when the fastening member 107 is fastened, and this may trigger a fear that the press-fit portion of the fixing portion 103 is broken.
In addition, in such a state that the lower end face of the head portion of the body attaching member 104 so press fitted in the fixing portion 103 is made to project further downwards than the body panel 106 side lower end face of the fixing portion 103, there is caused a problem that the lamp 101 is lifted up from the attaching surface of the body panel 106 after the lamp 101 has been attached to the body panel 106.
Additionally, in order to avoid the effect of heat to the lamp body 102 by the heat in the body attaching member 104, it is necessary to form a non-contact space between the body attaching member 104 and the fixing portion 103. That is, it is necessary to form a depth-wise space for avoiding heated air to be compressed as the body attaching member 104 is press fitted deep into the fixing portion 103. Because of this, the overall depth of the lamp 101 is increased, and due to the depth-wise space so formed, the body attaching member 104 is brought into contact with the fixing portion 103 only on side surfaces thereof, thereby making it difficult to obtain a large securing force.
In addition, in the attaching construction and the welding method described in Patent Document No. 2, because there is provided no means for positioning in ultrasonic welding the slide contact projection provided on the base plate of the locking pin to the surface of the lamp body which is designed for welding, it is not possible to obtain high positioning accuracy.
In addition, in the attaching constructions and the welding methods disclosed in both Patent Document Nos. 1 and 2, because an external device becomes necessary to carry out welding, it becomes difficult to produce the lamp at low cost.